There is an 'opt-out' which makes me wonder how many will still be paying in six months from now, but I was wondering how many here, especially those in their twenties and thirties, are not and have never been in any sort of scheme. Also on what the situation is outside the UK - whether it's compulsory. I pay in about £22 a week which won't get me much in retirement (about 15 years away, if I'm lucky); those who pay in the minimum of £2.37 a week will be lucky to buy a pint of milk a day on what they get back.

You would be crazy not to save at least up to the maximum of whatever your employer matching.

I'm was always surprised at people at work who don't know that the employer will match a certain percentage of your savings into a 401k plan. It is literally free money...someone is giving you $2 for every $1 you give them.

Originally Posted by KungFu_Kallis

Peter Siddle top scores in both innings....... Matthew Wade gets out twice in one ball

Surprises me how many people at work aren't in the company, or any other scheme and think they'll be able to live on the state pension - a lot of them are guys under 30, who just aren't interested, or they say things like "I've invested in property" - which generally just means that they own a house. Well, unless you take in a lodger, you won't make any money from that. There's always the possibility of an inheritance of course, but with people living longer, many of us will be retired ourselves before our parents pass away.

I'm doubtful as to how many will bother - I put a not inconsiderable amount into mine and have done for years, but it still doesn't amount to much - if my secretary put half as much into hers as I do in mine it would be a fair slice of her income, and she'd end up with half of not a lot - I'm not surprised she can't see the point

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Sounds similar to the NZ "Kiwisaver" scheme. I'm in, ftr, but only joined post 30 and once I had real commitments that I had to worry about etc.

>>>>>>WHHOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHH>>>>>>Fascist Dictator of the Heath Davis Appreciation SocietySupporting Petone's Finest since the very start - Iain O'Brien
Also Supporting the All Time #1 Batsman of All Time Ever - Jacques Kallis and the much maligned Peter Siddle.

In this country, because of the work of the immortal Paul Keating (blessings be upon him) everyone has 11% superannuation put into an account which they can't access until age 60 or 65. The scheme started in the late 80s at 3% and will eventually get to 15% (it should be there now but that's another story). You can also make voluntary contributions over and above the prescribed employer contribution.

The idea is you retire one week and start the next on a pension the same as the wage you leave work on. It's a massive pool of national savings.

Unfortunately, because of the delays in getting to 15%, the baby boomer generation will miss the full benefits, meaning there will still be a massive drain on the finances of the country as the boomers retire and are on government pensions.

It was done as a wage increase trade off and is probably the single biggest forward-thinking reform we've ever had. It means an income replacement model of pension, not a subsistence model.

Last edited by Burgey; 02-10-2012 at 01:17 AM.

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In this country, because of he work of the immortal Paul Keating (blessings be upon him) everyone has 11% superannuation put into an account which thu can't access until age 60 or 65. The scheme started in the late 80s at 3% and will eventually get to 15% (it should be there now but that's another story). You can also make voluntary contributions over and above the prescribed employer contribution.

The idea is you retire one week and start the next on a pension the same as the wage you leave work on. It's a massive pool of national savings.

Unfortunately, because of the delays in getting to 15%, the baby boomer generation will miss the full benefits, meaning there will still be a massive drain on the finances of the country as the boomers retire and are on government pensions.

It was done as a wage increase trade off and is probably the single biggest forward-thinking reform we've ever had. It means an income replacement model of pension, not a subsistence model.

It's a fantastic system as far as I'm concerned; although I haven't done any real research into Super, I've yet to hear any real negatives of it.

Being a poor, crapped on civil servant <pauses for booing to subside> I'm in a pension scheme by default.

HM Govt has recently changed the terms of my scheme so I now have to chuck in 2.7% of my salary as opposed to the 1.5% previously, but they have upped their contributions from 17.1% of my salary to 18.8% as recompense. It's absurdly generous to my way to thinking.

Sounds similar to the NZ "Kiwisaver" scheme. I'm in, ftr, but only joined post 30 and once I had real commitments that I had to worry about etc.

Originally Posted by BoyBrumby

Being a poor, crapped on civil servant <pauses for booing to subside> I'm in a pension scheme by default.

HM Govt has recently changed the terms of my scheme so I now have to chuck in 2.7% of my salary as opposed to the 1.5% previously, but they have upped their contributions from 17.1% of my salary to 18.8% as recompense. It's absurdly generous to my way to thinking.

I am deathly jealous of Brumby's scheme. I think Kiwisaver is you put in 1-8% of your salary and the employer puts in like 2% only. I want to save enough to buy an investment property so I can get some tenants paying for my retirement is the master plan. Sadly I am a long way off that goal atm.

Being a poor, crapped on civil servant <pauses for booing to subside> I'm in a pension scheme by default.

HM Govt has recently changed the terms of my scheme so I now have to chuck in 2.7% of my salary as opposed to the 1.5% previously, but they have upped their contributions from 17.1% of my salary to 18.8% as recompense. It's absurdly generous to my way to thinking.